1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to boat anchor rope locking devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a number of known devices for locking and releasing a boat anchor rope.
However, as typified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,956,903 of Kline and 3,186,372 of Cleveland, such devices commonly require an individual to pull on the anchor rope to release them. For this reason, a boat operator is handicapped when dropping anchor as one hand is required for this task thereby leaving only one free hand for other activities.
This proves particularly disadvantageous in the case of row boats used for travel on rivers and streams. In these applications, the boat operator typically must keep both hands on the oars and row to maintain the boat in a desired position as an anchor rope is lowered. As a result, unless the operator has a companion on the boat who can lower the anchor, it is extremely difficult for the operator to anchor the boat in a desired spot. That is, unless the operator can keep both hands on the oars, the boat typically drifts uncontrolled while the anchor rope is lowered. As a result, it is difficult to precisely anchor the boat and keep the boat from drifting on rocks and other obstructions as the anchor is lowered.
Other known boat anchor rope locking mechanisms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,843,999 of Kramoski, 3,626,888 of Cameron, and 1,710,697 of Gilbert. These devices are also designed for operation by pulling on the anchor rope, and therefore suffer from the disadvantages mentioned above. In addition, they are mounted on the bow of a boat where they are difficult to reach. Thus, if the anchor rope fouls in them, the person operating the boat may have to release the oars and crawl to the bow of the boat to free the rope.
Therefore, a need exists for a compact, easily accessible boat anchor rope locking mechanism which may be actuated without the use of a person's hands.